She
by Imsii
Summary: will be his masterpiece.


"_Let me see you_

_stripped down to the bone"_

* * *

><p>It could only be <em>her<em>.

Isabella.

Anywhere, anywhere he was he would recognize her scent.

Isabella.

It wasn't a matter of thought as he swerved away from the path that lead to her house; changing direction to follow her. Near the line of the reservation, the way was drowning in her scent.

Isabella.

It was an indescribable feeling having his still heart beat once again.

"**I**sabella."

It was her.

Freezing in place, the girl slowly turned her face to look over her shoulder. She was unrecognizable from the naïve girl his family had known a little over a year ago. Gone was the innocent; baby-faced girl who had caused so much trouble for them.

In her place was a mere slip of a girl; a skeletal essence of the girl that used to be.

With his piercing gaze he could see the near crimson circles that rested underneath her eyes. The tendrils of her beautiful hair clung limply about her gaunt face. An air of melancholy hung about her, one that was more fitting in a painting of Mary Magdalene than her.

Clearly, she wasn't well.

Whatever was he going to do with her? Tsk tsk.

Wearing her traditional olive-green hoodie and dark jeans with ill-fitting sneakers; she was shivering in the gentle downpour of rain. Still, she was a vision to him.

"Bella" She whispered in reply; for a minuscule second her lips pursing in displeasure. This amused him. Even after a year of his absence, she still childishly clung to the use of "Bella".

There was something in them that attracted humans. It was thrilling; electrifying and terrifying for them. Yet with all the prey he had hunted, none had ever reacted like this.

None had been the one to attract _him_.

"Why did you come back?"

It was a question that he had thought of various ways to answer. In the three days that it had taken to reach Forks, he had turned it over constantly in his mind until he had arrived at the single conclusion that summed up the most innocent of his intentions. For just like his virtues and his sins, he had many intentions.

He was merely telling her one.

"I want to be friends."

That was the truth, wasn't it?

He _wanted_ her.

He wanted to devour her completely. All of her. Her beating heart, her divine soul, he wanted everything to become his.

She would be his _alone_.

If only his twit of a son hadn't deviated from his original plan. The events that had happened on Bella's birthday party were unacceptable. Jasper's behavior he could understand. But for Edward to force them to leave her was something he could hardly abide by.

He, Carlisle, was the leader of the coven.

He made the rules.

The others followed them.

It had been a long time coming – the need to reign in his prodigal son Edward. Perhaps it was out of that strange human emotion – _loneliness_ that had driven him to make Edward his companion. It was a choice he regretted; this physical testament to his moment of weakness. The boy was never suited to this immortal life, looking at it not as a gift but as a curse. How weak he was always seeking his eternal damnation in supposed salvation from the _gift_ of life that Carlisle had given him.

It had been about time for the creator to destroy his creation.

After all, every creation improved from the one before. Edward, Esmé, Rosalie, Emmett – they were all his creations. Each one was better than the last, a testament to his _power_, his _restraint_, and his _purity_.

Carlisle found it easy to be pure because he was like a God.

In his mind, he _was_ God.

But all of his creations – all of them had flaws. Isabella would be flawless.

And so he had come back for his prey.

"Are the r-rest of you back too?"

As she spoke, Bella's pale skin blanched. Even in the near darkness of the night; Carlisle could see this; along with the swift flinch that followed. She had never been very good at hiding her emotions. They were always displayed across her face or exposed in her tone. Even if she had attempted to hide them, she had no control over the beat of her heart or the quickening of her small, pert inhales of breath.

No, he was all-knowing when it came to Isabella.

As such, Carlisle knew _exactly_ who she was thinking about.

_Edward_.

The son that he despised; who had dared to lay claim to her heart first. That boy was too simple, too selfish, too arrogant to see that he was only attracted to her because she was an enigma to him. The only person whose thoughts he couldn't hear, she had presented a challenge to him.

That was all.

"No. I've only come through here to fetch something."

"Then you'll leave again?"

"Yes."

He hadn't bothered with pretensions this time. There were no calls to the hospital made, no unpacking of the house that the Cullens had once lived in. No, he had no time for any of that.

He only had time for her.

"Oh." Her shoulders slumped; her thin arms wrapping around her chest.

If only she knew that they would be together. She was the precious package that he had come to fetch, after all. She would be able to take her proper place by his side as his mate.

That was where she _belonged_.

"Let me take you home."

Shifting her gaze away from him, she swallowed dryly. "I'm not going home."

Oh? What was little Bella planning on doing? His ears perked; listening as her heartbeat increased. It was as if she were a hummingbird, the way her heart was racing.

"Where are you going then? Charlie?" He inquired politely. It would be a slight hindrance if he were to take her with him then, if Charlie was waiting for her. To attract the attention of the town would be bothersome.

It had been decades since he had been forced to act unpleasantly. That wasn't something he liked to do – no, as the good doctor he was, he had no _intentions_ of hurting anyone.

He liked Forks with its naïve, small town mentality.

So naïve were the people to sleep peacefully in their beds; unaware of what truly lurked in the world about them. He could cause a bloodbath with a flick of his wrist; so easy it would be. It wasn't as if they couldn't come back to Forks in a few decades, if that were to happen.

No one would remember her then.

"He's on a fishing trip with Billy…I just wanted to get away."

Cocking his head, Carlisle relaxed slightly. He would let the issue drop for now. She may have been lying about wanting to get away but she wasn't about Charlie being away.

Perfect.

Firmly he cupped her cheek with one hand; his other hand moving to grasp her forearm. He held it gently, his fingers tenderly caressing her skin. How he had longed each night since Bella had come into his life to touch her so. It had always been forbidden; a path closed off to him. Until now, that is.

"My touch" Pausing he watched as his fingers trailed lightly down her arm. Even if he had applied the slightest amount of pressure; it would be enough to bruise her skin. Humans were such fragile beings, weren't they? "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

Biting her trembling lip; Bella shook her head. Her cheeks flushed a soft peach color; her blood pumping faster through her veins. Her scent was his own secret paradise. It was an indescribable mix of freesia; a gentle floral that matched her perfectly. It was exhilarating; holding that kind of power over someone.

With one word, he could make her heart race.

With one slip of control, he could snatch away her life as easily as she had come into it.

"I wanted you to touch me."

Had he heard her right?

His lips curled upwards into a smirk. Inwardly his veins burned with pleasure. She did feel the same way about him.

Perhaps they were both each other's prey.

Together they would tumble through the madness of desire.

"You do realize that I've caught you." Resting his hand on the back of her neck, he bent down slightly to be at eye level with her. Brushing aside her hair; his lips would greet her ear lobe as he whispered, "And so the lion prepared to pounce on the poor, poor deer."

"Maybe the deer wanted to be caught." She replied softly; for the first time flicking her gaze towards him. Her eyes were the window to her soul. Her brilliant brown orbs held no fear; his gold irises reflecting in hers. In place of fear, there was something else. He didn't need the gift of empathy to know what it was.

**L**ust.

What a dangerous game she was attempting to play with him. How entrancing she was becoming, unlike when she had been Edward's toy. What a fool he had been to let her go. Only a child like his son could fail to see the woman who was blossoming underneath Bella's shy exterior.

Trailing his index finger across her collarbone; Carlisle sighed lightly. Oh, how he had longed for this. There were times when he was a patient man.

However when it came to his little Bella, his patience had come to an **e**nd.

He would be the one to have her change into the sensual, beautiful woman who was hiding inside of her. He would awaken her senses to the possibilities of the world he belonged to.

She would be his new creation; entirely **his**.

"Never let me go" She whispered.

"_Never_." He agreed.


End file.
